


I'm Trying, Okay?

by Datarabi



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: A New Beginning
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24867349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datarabi/pseuds/Datarabi
Summary: Rio is bad at saying no to people. Neil doesn't even give them the chance to ask. But sometimes, it feels like they're the only ones that understand each other in the midst of town that's growing too fast for one farmer to keep up with.(Drabbles, first fic :)
Relationships: Neil/Rachel | Rio
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Spring 9th

Rio locks her front door behind her. Sighing, she slumps forward until her head gently hits the wood. Every morning she is filled with quiet worry about her future on this farm, although at least she has her work to distract her. It’s worse at night, when she’s alone in her tiny house, nothing to do but bite her nails and try to calculate the minimum she needs to earn for the season.

She’s usually an optimist, but she guesses even the cheeriest of farmers would have trouble adjusting to her new responsibilities. She had come to her father’s old property with just the goal of reviving an empty farm; but for some reason Dunhill is expecting her to fill this empty town.

The loneliness of the place scares her. Echo Town is an apt name. So much empty space to fill. She’s so used to the company of her family that she finds that being alone in her house, in this town, is starting to affect her mentality. There’s no company apart from a handful of strangers and her crushing anxiety.

A nonchalant “moo” interrupts her spiralling.

Twisting her head around she spots a large dairy cow strolling through the entrance of the farm. Her eyebrows raise, but she hurries over and instinctively grabs it’s collar. She’s about to coo at it’s sweet face but her words die on her lips as she notices the tall blonde man following the cow.

He nods at her. His face is stony. “I’m Neil. I own the animal shop.”

“O-oh,” Her free arm falls limp to her side. “I’m Rio, I’m the farmer. Well, I guess that’s obvious…”

His face reveals zero reaction to her awkward introduction. “The cow’s for you. She’s a gift from Dunhill.”

Rio’s face brightens. “That’s so kind of him! Thank you so much for delivering her.”

“I’m just the messenger.” Slinging a bag off his shoulder, he hands it to her. “That’s a milker and brush. They come with her.”

“Thank you!” She clutches it to her chest. “I really appreciate it.”

“Do you have experience with cattle?” He asks her brusquely.

“Yes! I grew up farming and I have a degree in agriculture.” Her fingers fiddle with the halter on the cow. “I can show you if you’re worried about her…”

Neil’s face moves for the first time as he quirks an eyebrow. “No, that’s alright. Can you give her a name?”

“Uh,” She looks in the cow’s eyes. It looks right back and chews it’s cud. “Uh… Becky.”

Her head jerks back up as she hears a snort from Neil, but his face is still again by the time she looks at him.

“Alright.” He says. “My animal stall is open Monday to Thursday on the town plaza. Make sure you get everything you need before the weekends.”

Rio nods eagerly. “Of course! Thank you again.” She laughs lightly. “It’ll be great to get some animals on the farm, I’m so excited that you’re opening again. Where have you been this season?”

“Business.” His voice is flat. Rio notices that his eyes are flitting around, looking at everything but her.

“Oh, uh…” She deflates. Clearly this guy is not interested in small talk. Or much talk at all.

Neil looks again at the cow. “Good.” He states. “She can be a bit skittish, but it looks like she already trusts you.”

Glancing at the cow confidently ripping up the grass, Rio finds that hard to believe. “I guess I’m pretty used to looking after them.”

“Nah, you’re good with them.” He tells her so bluntly you could mistake it for an insult rather than a compliment. “Natural instinct sort of thing. Even I’ve had trouble handling her before.”

“Th-thank you! That’s so nice of you to say- “

His face cuts her off. He’s looking her in the eyes now, clearly annoyed. “You really don’t have to thank me so much. I haven’t done anything for you. Like I said, Dunhill sent the cow.”

He jams his hands into his coat pockets. “Bye.”

Before Rio can even splutter out a reply, he’s walking away. Doesn’t look back.

Now, a normal person would almost definitely be insulted by this kind of attitude. Neil is used to that, and most of the time he accepts it. He doesn’t like to pretend to be something he’s not.  
But what Neil isn’t used to is Rio’s more… odd viewpoint. She learned a long time ago to read the hidden meanings behind people’s actions.

So, as she absentmindedly strokes Becky’s neck, she is trying to forget how he acted like he couldn’t stand to be around her. Instead, she muses on how painfully honest he is, that he refuses to be thanked for someone else’s gift, and handed out a giant compliment for a farmer without batting an eye.

“Things here are far too complicated for such a small town.” She tells Becky.

In response, Becky grunts, lifts her tail, and drops a giant shit.

Rio sighs. “At least cows will never be complicated. Come on, let’s get you to the barn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this is my first fic. I've written a little before, but I'm looking to improve so I'd really appreciate any reviews :) This is gonna be fairly slow, but the chapters will all be short so it shouldn't seem like too long before any action lol. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Spring 26th

It’s windy. Probably going to rain soon.

Neil watches the velvety green grass around the plaza ripple in the strong breeze. Grey rainclouds swirl in the open sky above him. As usual, there’s no one around. His animal stall stands like a tiny rowboat in an empty ocean of cobblestones.

He sighs. Won’t be much more empty space left at this rate. Dunhill is fixated on rebuilding the town. At first Neil wasn’t worried. It seemed impossible for life to return to Echo Town. But now Dunhill’s got that blacksmith and architect to help him.

Not to mention that poor farmer. All Dunhill is talking about are those “restoration plans” that he’s pawning off on her. God forbid he actually helps her with them.

_Speak of the devil…_

Trudging up the ramp towards the plaza is Rio, smiling but shivering in the wind. She only ever seems to wear those overalls, but this time she’s got an ugly green jacket wrapped over them.

Neil has to give her credit. Although she was clearly a little put off at their first meeting, she’s never treated him any differently since. She’s always friendly, efficient. Neil respects that. He admires professionalism.

“Hello.” She says calmly when she reaches him. “Some weather, huh. I was hoping it would be warmer now that we’re so close to summer.”

Neil hums in the back of his throat, his standard response to generic weather statements. He hates when customers force niceties. He’s tempted to use his “Don’t quibble, just buy” line to speed her up, but it never works.

“Could I get another ten stacks of fodder delivered please?” Neil nods and takes her offered money. He can’t figure out why she doesn’t buy in bulk, but at least it gives him some regular work to do.

“And, uh…” She’s hesitating, shuffling her boots on the stones. “I was wondering if I could ask you for a favour.”

His eyes narrow. He doesn’t want to be a complete dick to her- but he doesn’t want to give her the impression that he’s up for being best buddies. His friendships tend to never work out.

“Nothing that big.” She hurries to say. “I didn’t want to bother you with it, but I thought your opinion would best.”

“Well, what is it then.” His mouth says before his brain has fully agreed. So sue him, he’s kind of curious.

“This is a bit embarrassing, but…” She looks at her hands. “I’m actually lactose intolerant. I can’t try Becky’s milk. So, I have no idea if it’s improving, but it would really help me if I could start selling it at a higher rating. I was hoping you could try some for me and tell me if it’s gotten any better.”

Huh. A lactose intolerant dairy farmer. Not the best combination.

“You can exchange Becky for a sheep if you want.” He ventures. “I’m sure Dunhill wouldn’t have given you a cow if he knew.”

“No way!” She says quickly. “I never give back any of my animals. And I love raising cows. I just need a hand with valuing their milk.”

Something in Neil softens at her stubborn expression. Most farmers view their livestock as product, so it’s refreshing to see someone care about them as much as he does.

Gruffly, he says, “Alright. I’ll grade it for you. I’m the judge for the animal competitions so you can definitely use my rating for selling.”

Rio sighs in relief. “I really appreciate it. I’ve got some with me for you to try. This will really help my income, you’re a lifesaver.”

She rummages through that seemingly bottomless rucksack. The farm must already be struggling if she’s that concerned about a little extra money.

She produces a cannister of milk and it hits the stall with a metallic thunk. The metal gleams dully and a “REGULAR COW, ½ STAR” label is slapped on the side.

Neil fishes an old tin mug out from the shelves underneath his stall and pours just a taster of the milk in. He sips it carefully and measures the quality. It’s nothing fantastic, of course, but he’s surprised at how much it’s improved in less than a season. Rio wasn’t lying- even if she can’t taste their milk, she obviously knows how to raise dairy cows.

He swallows. “Not two stars yet. But at least one and a half.”

“Really?” Unexpectedly, she’s smiling widely. “Are you sure? I was only hoping it would reach one star.”

“Yeah. You’ll probably hit two stars early next season.”

She leans forward slightly. “Would you taste it for me then? I really wouldn’t be able to thank you enough.”

Neil rolls his eyes. Give them an inch and they take a mile. “Fine. But there’s no need to thank me. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Rio grins. “It is to me. You’ve saved me from death by lactose.”

She shrugs her rucksack on again, so Neil pushes the milk cannister back to her. “Here, you can still sell the rest of that.”

She waves it off. “No, you keep it. Consider it a payment.”

He scowls. “I don’t want payment for it, I did it as a favour.”

She’s unperturbed. “No problem, then consider it a gift.”

Well… he did run out of milk last night. “Thank you.” He mutters. “I actually, ah, I actually really milk.”

“Oh, perfect.” She looks pleased. “I’ll see you soon, Neil, thanks again.”

She strides back towards her farm, at her usual fast pace. Not wanting to creepily watch her walk away, Neil pours himself another mug of the milk.

It starts to rain gently as he drinks it. He remembers an old saying Hana used to tell him about food tasting better when it’s a gift. The milk is still exactly one and a half stars, but he understands the saying a little better.


End file.
